Cutter blade can opener



June 6, 1950 J. D. TINSLEY CUTTER BLADE CAN OPENER Filed Dec V EN TOR.James 0. 77/75 /eg Patented June 6, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICECUTTER BLADE CAN OPENER James D. Tinsley, Bakersfield, Calif.Application December 10, 1946, Serial No. 715,254

2 Claims.

This invention relates to can openers of the type having prong adaptedto hook over the bead on the end of a can to act as a fulcrum to enablea cutter to be forced against the side of the can so as to cut asubstantial portion of the can side with a single quick swing of the canopener, and with another quick swing to bend the cut portion of the canend upwardly, so as to expose the contents of the can.

The most common form of can opener that hooks over the bead at the endof the can includes a rotating knife or knives and gears by which thecutting element is operated and as can openers must necessarily beinexpensive, the operating parts are cheaply made and quickly assembledso that the life of can openers of this type is very limited and theoperation of can openers of this type is not generally efficient.

With this thought in mind, this invention contemplates a can opener forcutting into the side of the can in which all moving parts areeliminated and in which a single stationary cutting blade is readilyforced into and around the can with a single simple action.

In the usual form of can opener, it is also necessary to properly adjustthe can opener to the correct position on the can, which not onlyrequires time, but is annoying, and with this though in mind, the canopener of this invention is designed so that with the handle thereofheld in the hand, it may be instantly placed upon the can andimmediately forced into the can and then turned upward to bend the cutportion of the can outward, the entire operation requiring only a,comparatively few seconds.

The purpose of this invention is, therefore, to provide an improved canopener of the type adapted to remove the ends of the can in which allmoving parts are eliminated and in which the can may be opened by anovice with very little eifort.

Where it is necessary to incorporate moving parts in a can opener,bearings or journals in some form are required, and these requirespecial material, whereas with all moving parts eliminated, as in thecan opener of this invention, comparatively inexpensive material may beused, and all machine work and assembling operations are eliminated.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to provide a, can openerwherein the holding and cutting elements are formed from a single pieceof material so that all rivets, bolts, and the like may be eliminated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a can opener, wherein aprong may be placed over the head of the can, and a knife, fulcrumed bythe prong, forced against the side of the can to cut the same.

Another object is to provide a can opener of the type adapted to removeor partially remove the end of the can which not only seVers the topfrom the can, but is provided with a receiving opening into which thesevered end of the can passes as it is severed, so that the severed endcan be readily bent upwardly or removed from the can.

A further object of the invention is to provide a can opener of thequick-acting type which is of a simple and economical construction.

With these ends in view, the invention embodies a, can opener formed ofa single sheet of material bent in U-shape with the sides extending toform a handle and in which a projection is formed on the end of one ofthe sides and a knife blade on the associated edge of the other side,wherein with the projection placed over the bead at the end of the can,the knife blade may readily be forced through the side of the canbeneath the end thereof to 'be severed.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description taken in connection with the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the can opener.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the can opener showing the same inoperative position on a can, the can being shown in dash lines.

Figure 3 is a right hand end elevation of the can opener.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters indicatecorresponding parts, the can opener of this invention is formed from ametal sheet to provide cutting blade II] which forms the lower side ofthe device, one longitudinal edge of the blade l0 being return bent atII to joint one longitudinal edge of the upper side l2 which is parallelto the blade l0. At the forward corner of the upper side l2 remote fromthe bead H is a forward projection l3 having a depending L-shaped flangeor prong [4, which depends to the level of the top of the blade l0. Asshown in Figure 1, the cutting edge 10' of the blade I0 is transverselyangulated, so that one end of the blade edge is closely spaced from theflange M, the latter end of the blade edge being cut oil at the corner,as indicated at 28, to define an incising point 21. The point 21 isadapted to be forced into the side of a can I5 with the flange l4engaged with the inward side of the bead IS on the can end. The deviceis then adapted to be swung sideways, with the flange l4 acting as afulcrum, so that the cutting edge ll! of the blade It] will cut the sideof the can below the bead l5 for substantially one half of the distancearound the can with a single stroke. To remove the entire end of thecan, it is only necessary to advance the prong M to a new position abouthalf-way around the can and then with a second similar stroke, sever theremaining half of the end of the can. In this action the severed can endwill slide into position between the blade l9 and the upper plate 12,and, in the event that the can end is completely severed from the can,the severed end will be located between the sides l0 and 12, so that thecan end can be readily removed. In the event that only half of the canend is severed, the severed portion can be readily bent upwardly byraising the device. The blade ill and upper side I2 have rearwardextensions forming a handle I1, and are connected along one edge by theportion II. The handle may be provided with a notch la in one edgehaving a hook 19 for removing bottle caps, and the rear end of thehandle may be provided with a projection 29 forming a screw driver. Acorkscrew 2-! may be mounted within the handle on a pin 22, and a pickor other device 23 may be similarly mounted on a pin 2 L The can openermay also be provided with a laterally extending semicircular ring 25,having toothed sections 25 therein that may be used for gripping jartops to facilitate removing the same from a jar. Other elements ordevices may be incorporated in the handle or parts of the can opener asmay be desired.

The can opener of this invention, however, includes primarily a sheet ofmaterial bent in the form of a U with the forward end of one of the armsthereof sharpened to form a knife edge, with prong extending from theforward end of the other arm positioned to co-act with the knife edge,wherein with the prong hooked over the bead at the end of a can, theknife edge may be forced into the side of the can for cutting the end ofthe can from the body portion thereof; and with the parts arranged inthis manner, the cut portion of the can may readily be bent upwardly orpicked up by the can opener so that 5 it will not fall into the can.

What is claimed is:

1. A can cutter comprising asingle sheet of metal bent along alongitudinal line to provide upper and lower parallelly spaced platesconnected together along one longitudinal edge, said upper plate havinga forward projection on its forward end having a depending fulcrum prongadapted to be engaged behind the bead on the end of a can to be cut, theforward end of said lower plate terminating in a transversely extendingcutting edge adapted to be applied to the side of the can below thehead, said cutting edge being transversely angulated whereby rockingsaid plates'toward one side with said fulcrum operatively engaged withthe inner side of the can bead causes said cutting edge to cut throughthe side of the can to produce a cut extending for a substantial portionof the circumference of the can.

2. A can cutter comprising a single sheet of metal bent along alongitudinal line to provide upper and lower parallelly spaced platesconnected together along one longitudinal edge, said upper plate havinga forward projection on its forward end having a depending fulcrum prongadapted to be engaged behind the bead on the end of a can to be cut, theforward end of said lower plate terminating in a transversely extendingcutting edge adapted to be applied to the side of the can below thebead, said cutting edge being transversely angulated whereby rockingsaid plates toward one side with said fulcrum operatively engaged withthe inner side of the canbead causes said cutting edge to cut throughthe side of the can to produce a cut extendingv for a substantialportion of the circumference of the can, said. forward projection beingdisplaced towardone side of said upper plate and said cut ting edgebeing angulated toward the opposite side of said lower plate, and aforwardly projecting incising pointon said cutting edge located adjacentto said projection.

JAMES D. TINSLEY.

REFERENCES CIT-ED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,528,166 Rogue" Mar. 3, 19251,549,930 Tanner 1 Aug. 18, 1925 1,756,613 Whitney Apr. 29, 1930

